Xabi Alonso could be set for a Liverpool return according to reports in Spain.

The midfielder left the Reds in 2009 after a successful spell at Anfield, but the five-year deal that he signed at the Bernabeu expires in 2014 and although Madrid have been in discussions with his agent Iñaki Ibañez since November, there is no agreement in sight.

According to Spanish daily AS, the Bernabeu club would like to extend Alonso's contract until 2016, but the midfielder is reportedly keen to see how things lie at the end of the season, re-evaluating his future with potentially a new manager in place.

On Wednesday, Spanish radio station Onda Cero claimed that the World Cup winner, 31, had in fact set his heart on a Premier League return, and that his representatives had held talks in Manchester last week over a possible move back to England - with finances a secondary concern.

Yet any deal will be obstructed by Real Madrid's reluctance to sell a player that they still see as a key part of their plans.